


Be My Homeward Dove

by lettersfromzedelghem



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff, Oral Sex, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-03
Updated: 2016-02-03
Packaged: 2018-05-17 14:55:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5875054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lettersfromzedelghem/pseuds/lettersfromzedelghem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jacob had a knack for being impulsive at the worst of times. This time, however, you believed he had nothing but sincerity in his heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was a pleasant, early summer day and for once in what seemed like weeks you weren’t being weighed down with tedious tasks assigned by the elders of your Brotherhood. You had been beyond busy the days previous, aiding Greenie with returning correspondences and visiting young men and women about becoming potential additions to the fledgling London Brotherhood alongside Evie. She had vented on and on about how Jacob should be the one doing it, that it wasn't her job to collect recruits, but she still kept at it until every single youth had been evaluated. Today was mercifully the opposite. You had nothing pressing to do and so you were stretched out upon Jacob’s lounge, reading through a new novel sent to you by a fellow Assassin in Russia. Both doors to the train car stood open, allowing air to breeze through and lightly kiss your skin.

A sudden jostle of the train as it lurched around a sharp corner sent several of Jacob’s cane swords rolling out from beneath layers of papers and off of his messy desk. The clatter startled you out of your concentration and you sighed, dog earing the page you were on and snapping the book shut. You went to the mess of weapons and gathered them up one by one, pausing when your eye was caught by the shimmering, ruby gaze of the cane topped with a grim looking eagle head. It was one of Jacob’s favorite possessions. You smiled a little as you took the canes and dropped them into the umbrella stand in the corner. When you returned to your seat on the plush lounge and reopened your book, your eyes scanned the words while your mind drifted on it’s own accord back to the absent man.

Jacob had been there to fall asleep with you the night before but had vanished like frost in the early morning sunlight. You weren’t angry or annoyed. Such was the life of an Assassin. Jacob had been helping Freddy clean up some of the violent men left over from The Blighters and had to be gone at daybreak. You understood. It was just nice to have a lie in with Jacob for a while before your responsibilities came calling. The most you could do when he was busy and out on his own was hope that he was being smart and safe without you there to help.

A familiar, heavy thud on the roof above made you roll your eyes skyward. Had you been anywhere else it would have concerned you. As it were, you simply went back to your story and a moment later the source of the thud dropped down into the doorway with an  _oof_. Jacob spotted you at once and clapped his hands together before him in a grand gesture, a grin lighting up his face.

“Ah, now _this_ ,” Jacob said in a chipper voice as he lifted his top hat from his head and dropped it onto the empty, waiting hook of his hatstand, “is what I like to come back to after a morning of chasing thugs around The Strand.”

You pursed your lips to hide a smile, sinking down a bit more into the lounge and focusing pointedly upon the novel. Out of the corner of your eye you watched Jacob remove his hidden blade and coat, setting them aside in a heap. He glanced at you as he strode closer, speaking in a nonchalant voice.

“My favorite hideout, my favorite place to sleep,” he paused right behind your shoulder, leaning down to plant a kiss atop your head, “and my absolute favorite girl who is very clearly ignoring me.”

You snorted and dropped the book to your lap, twisting around in your seat and looking up into Jacob’s smiling face.

“Hello, my dear,” he practically purred, pecking you on the lips.

You smiled, unable to keep up the charade, and leaned up a bit in search of another kiss that Jacob dutifully gave. He moved around to the front of the lounge and carefully settled himself between your legs upon his belly, head cradled upon your lap. Both of his arms wound around you once he had gotten comfortable. It surprised you and you huffed out a laugh, tugging your book out from under his cheek. You resumed reading, clasping the book in one hand while the other rested upon the back of Jacob’s neck.

"What are you reading?" Jacob asked, voice muffled against your stomach. You smiled and moved free hand up to rifle your fingers through his hair.

"It's a new story from Dostoyevsky. Crime and Punishment, he titled it. I had a Sister gather all the publications of its chapters and compile them for me into a book."

"Perhaps I'll read it when you've finished."

"No you won't."

"Well...maybe I'll have you read it to me."

"You lazy bastard," you murmured affectionately. Jacob gave a wistful sigh in return.

"Is it lazy if I say I love hearing such long stories in your dulcet voice?"

"Incredibly so...though I suppose I can give you credit for the flattery."

Jacob chuckled and nuzzled his face into your belly a little more, bringing a hand down to your lower back. His big fingers snuck up beneath the hem of your shirt, stroking over the curve of your hip. You dropped your gaze from the printed words to the man snuggled up against you. The faint, dusty purple of exhaustion beneath his closed eyes was obvious up close like this.

Jacob had been working hard all throughout the winter and spring months, strengthening his gang and fighting off upstart Templar factions from Whitechapel to Westminster. With Starrick and his henchmen dead, the numbers of Templars in the city had been decimated and you could tell that he was immensely proud of himself from the way he puffed up whenever he spoke of it. Lately, however, he had been rather subdued, still working like a fiend but hardly making a peep about it. You were curious, and maybe more than a little suspicious because it _was_ Jacob Frye, but you left it alone. Jacob had never kept secrets for longer than he had to, and you didn’t wish to nettle him with questions when he was clearly already overwhelmed with some task. Still, you did wish he would at least get a proper amount of rest once in awhile.

Brushing the pad of your thumb over his cheek, you murmured his name fondly.

"Are you going to sleep?"

"Just for a bit," Jacob sighed, cracking an eye open to peek up at you. "I have more work to do later. I was hoping you'd come along. I've got a lead on a shipment of poison that will no doubt be used for nefarious purposes should the Templars receive it...probably trying to kill Parliament again or something equally absurd."

"Of course I'll come along," you said softly, leaning down to press a kiss to Jacob's temple. The man smiled lazily and pressed a sleepy kiss against your stomach in return.

“'Course she will," Jacob sighed, more to himself than you. The happiness in his voice made your belly flutter pleasantly, and you kept your free hand gently carding through his hair until his breath had slowed and deepened in slumber.

Though he had said _just a bit_ , Jacob slept all the way through lunch and tea and you were incredibly pleased even as he whined and grumbled upon waking and realizing the hour.

 

At sundown you and Jacob hopped off of the train at Waterloo Station, dressed to intimidate and armed for a fight if necessary. The station was bustling with people eager to make their way home or elsewhere for the night, so the two of you passed through unnoticed. Once out on the street, you followed Jacob over to a narrow alleyway where two street urchins, a small, blond boy and a taller, ginger haired girl sat on empty fruit boxes around a small fire in a metal barrel. They seemed to be expecting you, perking up when they saw Jacob approach. You stood back and watched as Jacob knelt down to look the children in the eye.

“All right, Rookuns. You did as I asked?”

“Yes, boss.”

“We followed ‘em all day, Mister Frye. Know right where they’re keeping the stuff.”

“And where’s that?”

“Jus’ that way,” the freckled girl said, pointing in the direction of the Thames. “S’in the big J. Mailin’ buildin’ by the river.”

“Excellent. How many guards would you say are still there?”

“Mmm...might be ‘bout fifteen and some, boss. They ‘ave guns, too.”

The boy nodded vigorously in agreement with his friend. You saw Jacob smile and reach into his coat pocket. When he withdrew his hand and opened it to reveal a fistful of coins, the pair lit up with excitement. Jacob split the money evenly between two small, eager hands and ruffled each child’s hair in turn before standing.

“You two had best clear out of here for a while. Go get something decent to eat.”

They didn’t need to be told twice. Once their coins were hidden away in their pockets they fairly sprinted away, shouting thanks back over their shoulders. You heard a quiet chuckle from Jacob as he turned back to you, removing his top hat and folding it flat in one smooth motion.

“Fifteen and some with guns,” Jacob repeated as he tucked the hat away inside his coat, reaching back to draw his hood up over his head. You followed his lead, tucking your braid back within the hood to keep it out of the way.

“I’ve had worse odds,” you replied, meeting Jacob’s shadow of a smirk with your own.

The corner of the industrial yard where the J. Mailings building sat had been abandoned by the workers for the night. That apparently meant little to the men patrolling around the perimeter of the building; you could see a few of them sporting a red cross on their upper arms. True to the word of the urchins, many of them carried rifles. With a ground level entrance seemingly out of the question, you cast your eyes up higher towards the windows and roof. Boarded up windows were out of the question if you expected to remain undetected. One open door that led out onto a small landing was available, though there was a sniper posted within it. Crouched beside you, Jacob had noticed it as well, his hand brushing your shoulder as he pointed.

“I can go in there and open up another window..that one, the third from the right. Give you a way in and create two escape routes for us.”

“All right,” you replied with a nod, turning your head to look at him around the edge of your hood. “Meet me back here if we get separated.”

“Yes, nanny,” Jacob whispered teasingly, leaning over to press a quick kiss to your lips before he gripped the edge of the roof and swung down out of sight.

Though you would never tell Jacob — heaven forbid you fuel his ego — it was always a pleasure to watch him work. He slipped right between one patrolling guard and the next only seconds behind as though he were nothing more than a spirit. You lost sight of him for a moment behind a stack of crates, but the next guard to pass by was jerked backwards off of his feet by an arm around his throat and did not reappear. With a bigger space of time to work with, Jacob began scaling up the side of the building, leaping from one handhold to the next.

Halfway up he stopped and scaled horizontally, carefully rounding the corner and glancing up to the platform. It was currently empty, the guard momentarily gone back inside to patrol. Jacob did not hesitate to clamber up to the platform and hoist himself onto it. As soon as he was on his feet he pressed his back to the wall beside the open doorway, head turned just a tad as he listened. You did not doubt that he was using his second sight, and as the sniper at last rounded the corner and entered the doorway Jacob was already reaching for her, right hand smothering her yell as his left arm swung around to bury the hidden blade in her throat. His momentum had pushed the guard up against the wall and he carefully and quietly lowered her down, retracting the blade and immediately turning to disappear into the building.

With Jacob at last inside you stood, aimed the rope launcher at the upper corner of the roof, and fired. The line went tight at once and you set off, covering the distance in a matter of seconds. As your boots made contact with the brickwork of the wall you heard the faint metallic whine of a window hinge and looked down in time to see Jacob craning his neck to look up at you.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he said quietly but no less happy. You sighed and shook your head, dropping down to the window ledge with ease and lifting yourself up and into the building.

It took your eyes a minute to adjust to the dark interior of the warehouse. Once they had you saw another dead Templar with a deep, bloody wound in the center of his chest. Jacob stepped over him without a downward glance and you followed wordlessly, descending to the next landing. There was plenty of cover to choose from and you hurried to crouch behind a pile of empty burlap sacks and cargo netting, leaning out over the edge of the walkway to survey the lower floor. There were several Templars within sight between the next landing and the ground floor. That wasn’t what had you attention, though; it was the cart loaded with ten large, wooden crates. They were unmarked.

“That is a rather large amount of poison,” Jacob whispered as he leaned over your shoulder to look.

“We can’t steal this much without bringing them all down upon us. There isn’t even a horse to pull the cart if we did somehow get to the cart unnoticed.”

“Hmm. No, you’re right,” Jacob murmured, and you heard that tone creep into his voice. The mischievous one. “We’ll have to dispose of it where it sits.”

You raised a brow and turned your head to look at Jacob.

“And how do you propose we do that?”

He answered you by flicking his wrist to open the hidden blade, reaching back behind you. You heard the razor edge of the blade cut through fabric, and when Jacob’s hand came back he was clutching a single, black lump of coal in his fingers.

“Start a fire?” You whispered incredulously, giving the man your best deadpan look. “Oh, yes. That’s discreet.”

“I hear a lot of complaining but no other solutions,” Jacob said lightly, turning the coal this way and that as if he were inspecting a fine gem. You snatched the coal out of his hand and set it aside.

“ _Okay_. I’ll follow your lead,” you said quietly, narrowing your gaze when he grinned. “Don’t get us killed.”

“Have a bit of faith, love,” Jacob said, patting your shoulder.

 

Faith or not, in true Assassin mission form, things went awry. Not immediately; Jacob and you went in two different directions, quickly and quietly eliminating any Templars you came across. You could see Jacob also moving bags of coal and containers of oil to one spot so that he could access it when the time came. You had clambered up onto a great mass of old rope and cargo netting to get a better view. In retrospect you were glad that you had, as you were able to catch sight of one more sniper who had been tucked away in the dark corner of the uppermost landing. It was a woman, and you noticed her just a moment before she saw Jacob down below. She made no noise to alert him to her presence but lifted her rifle and looked down the length of it, steadying her aim.

Without thinking you reached a hand into your coat, gripping the short handle of a throwing knife and pulling it out. It closed the distance between you and the guard in a heartbeat when you hurled it, burying itself in the side of her neck. The woman grunted and went to her knees, and for a brief moment you basked in the satisfaction of the kill. Unfortunately, the dead woman no longer had a grip on her rifle and you could only watch as it skittered across the landing and dropped over the edge. The clatter of the weapon and it bounced off of crates and machinery was deafening in the silent warehouse. You saw Jacob freeze in place across the landing, head turning to look down below at the sound of approaching voices.

It was a group of three men, and one of them sported the crimson Templar cross on the shoulder of his coat. You felt your heart begin to pound as they closed in on the rifle lying strangely out of place in the middle of their path. The leader approached without hesitation, nudging it with his foot and looking left, then right, and then slowly upward. You knew that you were well out of sight within the shadows of all the hanging netting but nervously bit the inside of your cheek regardless. The Templar wasn’t looking in your direction but directly above, where the dead sniper lay. He said nothing, but turned and walked across the warehouse to the chain pulley that controlled the massive doors to the building. It only took a handful of strong pulls to bring the doors sliding shut, effectively cutting off the biggest escape route you had on the ground floor.

The Templar made it halfway back to his comrades before a massive, dark shape dropped from above and effectively crushed him. It was followed by the familiar upswing of an arm and the glint of a blade before it was buried in the man’s neck.

_“Assassins! The Assassins are here!”_

The other two men turned to run but before they could get out of sight you dropped from the rafters, landing upon one and breaking his neck in the process. The second received the dart end of the rope launcher through the middle of his back and you used it to jerk him towards you and cut his throat before he could gather his bearings.

“That was creative,” Jacob remarked, clearly impressed, from behind you.

You turned halfway to look at him, smiling dryly and nodding towards the man with the Templar cross on his shoulder.

“Check his pockets. He’ll probably have matches on him. Use the oil from his lamp to ignite the crates—”

Raised voices from deeper in the warehouse made you turn back around, drawing your pistol in time to aim and fire twice at a group as they charged around the corner. Your bullets weren’t wasted; two more men falling to the floor and going still. The rest scattered like scared hens at the sound of your gun, taking cover behind anything they could find. Behind you, a sudden flare of light shone at the corners of your vision, and Jacob’s shadow was cast upon the wall to your right. You didn’t have a chance to double check that the cart had been set ablaze; another group of Templars had arrived and they seemed far less intimidated by your presence than their brethren. Before they had a chance to raise their rifles and fire you turned and ran back around the cart, which was indeed in flames, ducking low and reaching into your pocket for one of Alec’s smoke bombs. You threw one, and then another as hard as you could to buy the pair of you some time.

Jacob, who had taken it upon himself to splash the oil from the lamp not only on the cart but every single bag of coal within sight, joined you a moment later. He fished the last match from the little box in his hand and lit it, aiming carefully around the corner of the cart and flipping it into a dark, shimmering oil patch. The effect was immediate, fire racing along the trail Jacob had created and up into the coal. It caught fire easily, pouring black, thick smoke into the air and reducing the visibility even more.

“I think this will take care of the poison problem,” Jacob said conversationally as he reached into his coat and took out his eagle wing brass knuckles, slipping them on and squeezing his hand into a fist.

“Now we just have to fight our way out of a burning room full of Templars,” you replied with false cheer. Jacob snorted and then leaned over to kiss you fiercely, pulling back and nudging his nose to yours.

“Don’t sell me a dog. I know you like a good fight.”

And then before you could retort Jacob sprang to his feet and disappeared around the cart. You yelled his name and hurried to follow.

By the time you joined the fray Jacob had already sent one man to the floor where he was promptly bleeding out. You had no chance to watch out for him, though, as several of the guards set their sights upon you and closed in. With two wrist blades and a cane sword at your disposal, the hand to hand combat was no harder than normal. If anything the bigger adversary was the smoke, your eyes burning and watering with irritation. It might have been the adrenaline or the heat but things began to blur into a nonstop swipe of blades and spurts of blood and the cracking of bones. It took a sudden vice like hold around your chest to clear your mind as you thrashed against the hold on you. Another Templar tried to dart in towards you, brandishing a blade towards your stomach. He only got as close as your legs allowed as you pulled them up and planted your feet against his chest.

With a great shove of your legs you sent the man stumbling backward until he tripped and fell against a big sheet of cloth draped overtop something. He grabbed wildly at the cloth as he went down in a poor attempt to catch himself, pulling it free as he went. With that man preoccupied, you jerked your head backwards and felt the hard line of your attacker’s nose crunch against your skull. He swore and his grip faltered enough for you to pivot and jam your blade in between his ribs. Once he fell you looked back to the man you had knocked down, squaring your stance with blade ready to strike.

However, your fierce determination to kill faltered and was replaced with an overwhelming urge to run when you noticed that the cloth had not been covering up coils of dock rope or sensitive machinery. Instead there was a stack of explosive crates nearly as tall as your waist and a good four boxes wide. The man that you had kicked into the stockpile was pushing himself up from the ground when he also took note of the sensitive material and how very close it was to the now roaring coal fire. He scrambled up to his feet and yelled for those nearest to him, jabbing a finger towards the crates as he ran for the other end of the warehouse.

Loathe as you were to agree with a Templar, it seemed like his idea was the best course of action, and you whirled about to locate Jacob. He was preoccupied with two other men, doing his best to beat each one down simultaneously, and hadn’t seen the newest developments with his back to you

“Jacob!” You yelled as you began to backpedal in the direction of the fleeing Templars. There was an out of commission furnace that was the closest suitable cover you could see and you made a dash for it. “ _Jacob_!”

The other Assassin jammed his blade up through the underside of one man’s chin and then spun around at the sound of your voice. His gaze moved quickly from your retreating form to the burning bags of coal to the flames lapping at the explosives. He sprang into action at once, sending the other staggering guard to the floor with a bodily shove in his haste to reach the steel machinery that you had taken cover behind. You grabbed hold of his coat as soon as he was within reach, pulling him off of his feet and atop of you as you hit the floor.

Hardly a second passed before the building erupted with a thunderous boom, shaking you to the core, eyes shutting tight of their own will. The sound of splintering wood and shattering glass met your ears along with agonized screams from the Templars who had been caught in the open. You flinched instinctively, ducking lower as Jacob pressed in closer to you to avoid being hit by flying shrapnel. You could smell the powder from the detonated explosives.

Before you had a chance to recover there was another chain of explosions from overhead, likely set off by the first blast. The rapid crackling of flames grew in volume and your eyes had already begun to sting from the smoke in the air as you opened them to look around. There was fire everywhere you looked, and though you supposed the cart of poison being blown to bits was a positive you felt like the rest was an overkill. When you stood and squinted through the thick smoke from the burning coal, you saw the bloody, charred remains of the Templars who hadn’t been so lucky as to find cover. It made your stomach turn a bit despite yourself. The crash of a net full of cargo smashing from the roof to the floor jerked you out of your grim reverie, and you felt Jacob take you by the arm.

“I think it’s best we leave,” Jacob yelled, not relinquishing his hold on you as he made a break for the stairwell. It had been damaged in the first explosion and groaned beneath your combined weight, wobbling ominously as you both sprinted upward. The second and third landings were in no better shape, the heat and smoke worsening as you ascended and the integrity of the structure worsening by the minute.

The sight of the open door and window were like ports in a storm and you didn’t hesitate to take your exit as Jacob released you to do the same. The clean air outside was a godsend and you took a heaving breath as you held your arm out and aimed the rope dart. Your eyes still burned and watered and so you overshot the landing place on the agreed meeting spot, causing you to drop from a greater height and land rather ungracefully and topple forward when you finally reached it.

For a moment you simply remained on hands and knees, breathing hard in between coughs and trying to steady your shaken nerves. Jacob was doing much the same, though he was out of your immediate field of view and you could only hear him coughing roughly. You could hear the heavy booms of explosions and collapsing factory walkways along with the panicked yelling of the remaining Templars as they ran for safety through the night.

“Are you hurt?”

You heard Jacob inquire from the other side of the peak in the tin roof. There was at least some semblance of concern in his voice. When he hopped over to your side of the roof he was quick to cup your face in his hands, turning your head this way and that in search of injury. You rolled your eyes but let him do it, giving him a tired smile once he seemed satisfied.

“Honestly, I’m fine. My ears are only a bit rung. You won’t be rid of me that easily,” you replied dismissively as you looked back over your shoulder.

The factory was ablaze, fire twining around the lettering of the business sign, though the worst of the explosions had tapered off. You knew that the building would be lost, no amount of work from the fire brigade enough to stop the inferno now with hundreds of bags of coal ablaze. A flicker of movement below upon the street jerked your attention away from the flames, and your eyes settled upon a final group of three straggling Templars who were doing their best to flee the scene despite obvious hitches in their strides. It made you laugh, a sharp and savage noise.

“Running away?” You shouted after the retreating guards, standing right at the edge of the rooftop and cupping your hands around your mouth to amplify yourself. “I was hoping for a challenge, you bloody milksops! You’d better drown yourselves in the Thames before I find you again!”

You let your hands drop and huffed in disbelief, muttering _cowards_ beneath your breath as you turned back around to face Jacob. You had expected him to be smiling, but it had a more fond, warm edge to it than the typical wicked one. His gaze was soft and he reached out as you approached to touch your cheek. The smooth leather of his gloves on your skin helped soothe the excitement still running through you and you smiled at him.

“My bricky girl,” Jacob murmured, shifting his hand to grasp your chin between thumb and forefinger. You let him draw you in and claim your lips without complaint. The warmth of his mouth made you hum appreciatively and bring your hands up to grip the lapels of his overcoat. The kiss went on for a long moment until Jacob pulled back and studied you with abrupt seriousness.

“Sweetling?”

You snorted and raised your brows at the faint pleading tone in his voice.

“ _Sweetling_?”

“No? How about poppet,” Jacob added, grinning and stroking the ridge of your cheekbone with his thumb. “Dove, goddess-”

“You’re being obnoxious, now. Come on, out with whatever it is you’re after,” you cut in with a laugh, elbowing Jacob lightly. “But I’ll tell you now that me keeping this fiasco a secret from Evie will hardly help. She’ll read about it in the paper tomorrow and know you were involved somehow.”

Jacob chuckled under his breath and then looked downward, reaching for your hand as he did and lacing his fingers with yours. A response did not come immediately, Jacob seemingly lost in thought as he studied your fingers in his grasp. The delay made your amusement and the teasing words poised upon the tip of your tongue fade. You gave his hand a gentle squeeze in reassurance that he could speak freely with you. When Jacob did look up to meet your gaze, his expression was at once earnest and anxious.

“Will you marry me?”

You breathed out sharply, eyes wide and mouth hanging open in an altogether undignified expression. Jacob seemed undeterred by your bewildered reaction. He smiled and brushed an errant strand of your hair back from your forehead and touched the corner of your eye gently with the pad of his thumb.

“It’s rubbish timing. I’m terrible at romantic things, I’ve been told. Devil knows I had wanted to ask you after an evening of grand spectacle and gesture. But this...I know here more than anywhere that this is right. I love you and I need you...you’re _good_ for me. I’ve wasted so much time on people who were bad and I paid for it and I know that I won’t have to do that with you.”

Jacob’s voice faltered and then he went quiet but you had heard the raw emotion in his words. What had seemed like such an absurd thing to ask considering you were both standing on the edge of a roof and watching a building burn to the ground thanks to your combined efforts suddenly made sense. Your support of him in the face of such adversities as bullets and explosions meant the world to him, you knew. Jacob craved support and affection and attention, almost to a fault. To be valued and not lashed with harsh words at every mistake he made. Your lack of anger towards him had told him all he had needed to know about how you felt for him, even when things were going poorly.

“Jacob,” you said softly, moving your hands up to cradle his face. He was watching you intently, not trying at all to hide his hopeful expression.

“You don’t have to answer me now,” he blurted out, furrowing his brows and shaking his head quickly. “I know it’s all rather sudden and you’ll need to consider it...maybe ask Evie what she thinks, but I-”

The second time his voice failed was due to you flinging both arms around his neck and pulling him in flush to you, lips claiming his in a heated kiss. Jacob made a muffled noise of surprise and wrapped one arm around your middle, the other gripping at the lapel of your coat to keep you close. The kiss was messy and brief and when you pulled back you were grinning brightly.

“Yes,” you said without pause, pressing another kiss to his cheek and laughing. “Yes, you clod. I will marry you.”

Jacob kissed you first that time and it was a long, deep kiss that warmed you clear to your toes. The noise of the inferno faded away, until you only heard your content sighs mixed with Jacob’s as you kissed on and on. At least until the telltale ringing bells of police carriages and fire brigades pierced the night air. You pulled back with a start, looking around quickly in anticipation of a fight. Jacob’s low, fond laughter as he kissed your temple made you relax again.

“Let’s make ourselves scarce before Scotland Yard arrives, hmm? I’d rather not face Freddy right now. He may actually lock me up for this one and I think a cell would be a poor setting to start off our engagement.”

The roguish grin on his face as he held out his hand made you roll your eyes, albeit good naturedly, but you laced your fingers with his nonetheless and the pair of you set off at a run down the length of the roof.

You had expected to catch the hideout train at London Bridge Station and perhaps share the news of your engagement with Evie and Henry over some glasses of champagne. However, once you and Jacob had reached the main street that ran alongside the train tracks, he hailed the first green Rook carriage that he saw and ushered you inside. He followed seconds later after muttering some instructions to the two ladies who sat at the reins. Once Jacob had shut the door behind himself and pounded on the inside wall behind the driver's seat, the carriage set off with a creak of wooden wheels and the sharp clip-clop of hooves on the road.

You hadn’t any idea where Jacob was taking you. You did try to peek out from behind the curtain over the carriage window, but Jacob had promptly stopped you before you could catch sight of anything besides the Thames below as the carriage moved across a bridge. The element of going somewhere without any prior information or preparation was thrilling, you decided as you sat back and studied the man opposite of you. Jacob seemed to be a bit lost in his own thoughts once more, but he had the presence of mind to at least reach across the narrow space and rest his hand atop yours on your knee. The simple action made your belly flutter with overwhelming affection.

_What does it matter where we’re going? I trust him. The man who is to be my husband._

Your thoughts made you smile and you did not bother to hide it.

When you at last felt the carriage begin to slow after many a turn this way and that way, you perked up and looked at Jacob eagerly. He smiled and leaned over to press a kiss to your cheek once your transportation had come to a halt.

“Humor me for a moment longer and close your eyes, hmm?”

Your desire to be out of the carriage — and hopefully somewhere private so that you could celebrate your engagement to Jacob properly — made you comply at once. You listened intently as Jacob opened the carriage door and felt the compartment shift as he climbed out. After a second his hand settled upon your elbow, tugging gently in guidance. You sought the carriage’s step blindly for a beat, smiling triumphantly when your heel finally caught the edge of it. Jacob sounded deeply amused when he spoke but, to his credit, did not laugh.

“Step down. Once more...well done, love. Here’s my hand,” Jacob murmured, and you smiled at the feeling of his big fingers slotting in between your own. He led you forward a handful of steps and then stopped. You could hear some music playing, a flute and violin, likely from the musicians who frequented the parks and gardens around the city. It was accompanied by approving mutters and clapping from an audience. Other than that, the night was quiet. You tried to imagine where he might have taken you that was near a garden, but nothing special immediately came to mind.

“You can look, now, if you’d like.”

The excitement of the situation made you open your eyes without a moment of hesitation. You found yourself looking upon a manor on the other side of a narrow street, its rows of windows and dark brickwork entirely familiar to you.

“Edward Kenway’s home?” You said slowly, raising a brow and turning to look up at Jacob. He smiled and linked his elbow with yours, striding along towards the manor with you in tow.

“Actually, as of last week that’s no longer the case,” Jacob replied smartly. The tone of his voice was so _smug_ and that you drug him to a halt beside the trickling fountain in the courtyard.

“What does that mean?” You asked, pursing your lips when Jacob grinned and shrugged. “Jacob Frye. What did you do?”

“Nothing!” Jacob exclaimed with a laugh, but he took one of your hands into his and brought it up to his lips. He made a thoughtful noise and then glanced towards the manor. “All right, maybe not exactly nothing. It took some convincing in many letters to the Brotherhood’s council to come to a final price, but...I’ve purchased it. I wanted to show you sooner but I’ve had people in and out for days furnishing some of the rooms.”

“You bought...what about the train?”

“We can hardly live on a train once we’ve got a family, can we?”

That made you whip your head back around from where you’d been counting the windows on the manor to look at Jacob with surprise. He picked up on your shock at once and looked properly embarrassed, shifting on the spot and rubbing the back of his neck.

“I didn’t have anything to offer you in terms of property. Evie and I do technically own our old family home in Crawley, but I didn’t think you would have wished to move out of London,” Jacob explained quietly, rifling through his coat pockets and walking up to the front door. You saw him take out a small key and slot it into the door’s lock, which clicked a moment later and allowed Jacob to push the door open.

“You bought this before you knew that I would accept your proposal?”

You asked incredulously as you followed Jacob inside. He closed the door behind you and then sidled up to wrap his arms around your middle, chin coming to rest on your shoulder.

“It seemed like a worthwhile risk,” Jacob murmured, squeezing you a bit and pressing a kiss against your neck. You felt his touch upon your wrist and looked down to watch him unfasten one hidden blade, then the other. Both weapons were set respectfully upon a shelf upon the wall, and then he came back to you and turned his attention to your coat. His hands moved upward to the top button, popping it open and following suit with the others until the garment was hanging loosely from your shoulders. He removed it without a word and moved away from you to hang it upon a wall hook near the door.

With Jacob momentarily occupied, you moved further into the entrance hall and looked around. It had been some months since the last time you had set foot in the house, looking for any other hidden artifacts with Evie. The air was warm and smelled faintly of flowers, no doubt thanks to the great mass of assorted stems that had been stuffed into a vase and put upon a nearby table. Curious and amused you went over and reached out to touch the tightly spiraled petals of a blush colored Ranunculus. Your fingers ghosted over the flower and down to the ivy spilling out beneath the arrangement.

A creak of the floorboards behind you announced Jacob’s approach a moment before his chest was pressed to your back and his lips brushed your ear.

“Do you know what they all mean?”

“Some of them. I was never bothered to memorize them all. I’d sooner tell someone I thought they were a prick than send them a bouquet of Sainfoin, much to my grandmother’s disappointment,” you replied, eyeing the lone, brilliant yellow face of a Dwarf Sunflower nestled amongst the other flowers.

 _Admiration and gratitude_ your mind supplied, and you smiled warmly to yourself. One delicate ivy leaf caught on the edge of your finger as you moved your hand. _Friendship. Fidelity._

“Do _you_ know them?” You asked playfully. Jacob snorted derisively and brought a hand forward to join yours. You saw that he had removed his hidden blade, coat, and gloves. The juxtaposition of his fight worn fingers on the fragile petals was strangely enchanting.

“Hardly. I know these because I...acquired...a book about the so called language of flowers. From Greenie, of course. He’s always going on about flowers to Evie and she always smiles like a nutter so I thought I’d see what the fuss was.”

Jacob shifted closer to you, his free hand settling on the plane of your stomach between your navel and breasts. The weight of his palm on your flesh, even through your waistcoat and undershirts, made your belly flutter.

“I’ve learned that this one,” Jacob began, voice soft as he touched another Ranunculus, this one the color of ripe raspberries, “means that I find you radiant. That I am dazzled by your charms.”

A breathy laugh slipped past your lips and you felt Jacob’s smile press against your jaw as he absently nuzzled down towards your neck.

“Oi, don’t laugh at me. I’m trying to be serious...and it’s true, I’ll have you know,” he chuckled, delivering a nip to your neck in faux admonishment. You grinned but went silent, eyes following Jacob’s fingers as he reached for a group of tiny, pale yellow blooms.

“Primrose. I recognize that one from the flower carts.”

“It symbolizes that the giver can’t live without the recipient, apparently,” Jacob replied.

He was aiming for flippant but fell short. The tenderness in his voice made you turn your head to look at him and catch his lips in a languid kiss. His fingers splayed upon your stomach curled slightly and pulled you back against him, his teeth grazing the swell of your lip and tugging gently. You keened softly and brushed your tongue along Jacob’s lip, delving it into his mouth when he rumbled his approval. As you kissed him, Jacob slowly slid his other hand up over the belts at your hips and the buttons of your waistcoat, toying with the topmost one. Then, in the space between one shaky breath and the next, he had turned you about and taken your face into his hands.

“There’s only one more matter of business, then, isn’t there?”

You hummed curiously, still thrumming and needy from Jacob’s kisses, and reached to grasp at his muscled forearms.

“What’s that?”

Jacob smiled, almost to himself, and dropped his hands to the buttons of your waistcoat. Each loosened one sent a thrill up your spine and you licked your lips in anticipation. Once the garment was opened, Jacob drew it down from your shoulders and tossed it carelessly aside. He went to work on the long sleeved, cotton shirt that you wore, removing it with ease and sending it flying to join the waistcoat. Satisfied that you were left with only the thin, white undershirt, he ducked his head to press a hot, biting kiss to the swell of one breast just above the low, swooping neckline of the garment. His big hands settled onto your hips at the same moment, squeezing you hard and drawing your pelvis in against his.

“I’ve got to take you up to our bed. It’s the finest that I could have crafted and I’m eager to see you in it,” Jacob murmured into your skin, lips brushing up the curve of your neck to press against your ear. “I need to touch you. Taste you.”

A wave of heat rushed over you from head to toe at Jacob’s words, hips canting into his as you bit your lip. Giving Jacob your most coy, alluring look from beneath your lashes, you leaned up and pressed a lingering kiss to the corner of his lips.

“Don’t keep your fiancée waiting, then.”


	2. Chapter 2

Jacob’s eyes lit up and then he knelt and wrapped his arms about your thighs, hoisting you up onto his shoulder as if he’d done nothing more than lift a sack of flour. You laughed delightedly at the sudden change of orientation, gripping tightly at the back of the red sash around his middle as he took the stairs two at a time. On the second floor he turned and went to the left side of the house, down the narrow hallway and to the last door. Jacob opened the door and stepped through carefully to avoid bumping your head on the door frame, and he didn’t relinquish his hold on you until he had lugged you halfway into the room.

When he tipped you forward from his shoulder and back onto your feet you were able to look at your new surroundings properly. The bed was a massive four poster piece, finely made of dark, polished mahogany and carved with intricate whorls upon the head and footboard. Pale, golden velvet hung from the wooden canopy in luxuriant curtains, though they had been tied back to allow better view of the room from the bed. You had never slept upon something so magnificent before in your life. Your expression must have been ridiculously delighted because Jacob began to chuckle at your side.

“Your silence would concern me if it wasn’t for the utter adoration I see in your eyes. Shall I leave you two alone for a moment?”

That got your attention. You huffed a laugh and turned to give Jacob a playful jab in the stomach with a fingertip. When you did, you saw a small table near the window which was topped with yet another floral arrangement, though this one was smaller. It contained only three types of blooms — orange roses and sprigs of thyme and dainty peach blossoms. Jacob watched you move over to them and spoke as you leaned down to smell one of the roses.

“Shall I tell you those ones as well? They’re a bit more...forward than the others.”

You smiled to yourself as you ran the pad of your thumb over the impossibly soft outer layer of petals on the rose you had sniffed

“No. I know what these are.”

“Do you?”

You flashed him a grin over your shoulder and bit your lip.

“I was a precocious young woman who sometimes wondered what she’d do if a man ever presented her with such an offering,” you said with a short laugh before adding more quietly: “And occasionally wondered in the years closer to eighteen as well, when it became clear I was not the courting type and instead turned my attention fully to the Brotherhood.”

Jacob made a noise as if he couldn’t believe you weren’t ever chased by every well to do young man who set eyes upon you. You didn’t respond, instead turning your focus back to the flowers he had chosen.

“Roses of this color stand for passion and enthusiasm. _Activity_ for the thyme. Awful man,” you murmured, raising a brow as you touched first a rose and then a bit of thyme. You felt Jacob’s gaze upon you but remained focused, reaching out to take hold of a stem of fragrant peach blossoms. You studied the pale pink petals and smiled slowly. “And this one... _I am your captive_ , if I recall correctly.”

You leaned downward just enough to catch the sweet scent of the blossoms, eyes fluttering shut briefly in appreciation before you turned your head and leveled Jacob with a hungry look. He was still stood in the same spot you had left him, looking equal parts eager and nervous, hands fiddling with the hem of his shirt. You stood back upright and went to him, pace slow but purposeful, and reached up to grip his chin between thumb and forefinger. He leaned in without complaint as you guided his face down to yours, his hazel eyes a bit wide and searching yours.

“Is that true, darling? Are you my captive?”

You emphasized the final word with a brush of your thumb over Jacob’s lips. You felt the quiver of his breath on your hand and smiled as his eyes closed, forehead leaning against yours.

“Yes,” Jacob breathed out quietly, vulnerable and with a sincerity that you had scarcely seen within him.

Pleased with his confession, you pressed a tender kiss to his lips and gripped the front of his waistcoat in both hands. He put up no resistance as you walked him slowly backward, too caught up in chasing your lips after every fleeting kiss you gave him. Once you had him backed up into the arm of the plush chair before the hearth, you pulled away and gave him a sly look.

“Why don’t you take off your belts and boots and sit down, hmm?”

“What about y-”

A firm shove effectively silenced Jacob as he toppled backwards over the arm of the chair and landed sideways upon its seat. He looked affronted and delighted in equal measure, flashing you a grin and clearing his throat as he swung his legs around and planted his feet on the floor.

“Well all right, then, you minx. Have it your way,” Jacob said lightly as he went to work on the belts around his hips and upper thigh. He toed his boots off with ease as he did, kicking them in two different directions. The eagerness with which he had obeyed made you laugh despite yourself. When the heft of his belts were freed from around him and set aside with a thud, Jacob looked back to you.

“Keep up that attitude and you’ll make a fine husband yet, Jacob Frye,” you teased with a smirk, bringing your hands to your weapons belt and feeding the leather back through the silver buckle until it went lax in your grasp. Jacob’s eyes followed the belt as you lowered it to the floor beside you and then back up as you opened the top button of your trousers.

Rather than finishing the rest right there, you walked around the chair to stand before your...fiancé. The thought made you feel abruptly warm and giddy. He was yours; better still, he _wanted_ to be yours. You bit your lip and looked down to your feet in an effort to hide your silly grin from Jacob, busying yourself with toeing your own boots off and nudging them aside.

When you had finished balancing on one foot, then the other to remove your socks, you looked back up to Jacob and saw the faint smirk playing at his lips. He had slouched a little in the chair, thighs relaxed and splayed in a nearly obscene manner. Satisfied with the picture he made, you slunk forward at a languid pace, hands working the final two buttons of your trousers open. Jacob did not miss the action; you saw his eyes dart downward, alight with interest. Before he could move to do anything you stepped into the space between his knees, giving him a coy look.

“Go on,” you murmured to him, voice hardly louder than the crackle of the fire in the hearth. You tugged lightly on one side of the opened trouser fabric to coax him into action. Jacob’s fingers flexed slightly where they were rested upon the arms of the chair and then he leaned forward and gripped the loose waist of the garment. It slid off of your hips with minimal effort, gliding down your thighs and calves and pooling around your feet.

Jacob needed no further prompting. He smoothed his palms up the sides of your thighs and hips before he took hold of your remaining undershirt and pushed it up, up, until you bowed your head and shoulders so that he could pull it off. It was tossed aside without care as Jacob sat back in his seat, eyes roaming over you and drinking in your bare figure with awe in his expression. Though the air in the room was pleasant you still quivered and felt goosebumps rise on your skin beneath his scrutiny.

“Devil take me, you’re beautiful,” Jacob said in a low voice, tongue darting out to wet his lips as he reached for you again.

You caught him by the wrist before his fingers could touch your belly. He gave you a curious look but remained quiet, sudden understanding bloomed on his face as you lifted his hand to kiss his scarred knuckles as you smoothly went down onto your knees. You saw his throat work as he swallowed heavily, and when you released his hand it moved up to stroke over your hair. Lowering your attention to Jacob’s groin, you smoothed a palm over the hardening line of his cock beneath his clothing. A light, playful squeeze of your hand coaxed a startled groan from the man before you and he squirmed a bit in his seat.

The feeling of his cock against your palm had not left you unaffected either, your cunt growing slick with arousal and you face heating with a blush. You lowered your head and brushed your lips against the hard bulge, smiling to yourself at Jacob’s shaky exhale as he gripped at the back of your neck. Without looking up at him you went to work on the trouser buttons, nuzzling at the sensitive skin above the dark, coarse hair at the base of his cock as you slowly opened the garment. When the last button was open you delved a hand inside and gripped Jacob’s length, easing him out slowly. His foreskin was velvety soft against your lips as you brushed your mouth against him, squeezing his cock and stroking him firmly from root to tip. On the next stroke you eased the skin downward to reveal the flushed, wide head of his cock. A bead of fluid had welled there and you leaned in, darting your tongue out to taste his arousal and then continuing on down the curved length of him.

A moan of your name made you roll your eyes upward as you gave him soft little licks. Jacob’s face was flushed a faint red, brows pinched together as he gazed down at you. You felt his fingers kneading the back of your neck and he brought his other hand down to caress your shoulder.

“Naughty thing,” Jacob rasped out, biting his lip and leaning his head back against the chair. You huffed out a laugh and squeezed his thigh with your free hand, smoothing it up over his stomach and chest as you closed your lips around the head of him and sucked lazily. The stretch of your lips around his girth as you worked your mouth further down him made you feel dizzy with want. You could stop right there and climb onto his lap and ride him, you knew, and Jacob would be all too happy to accommodate you.

 _Patience_. You told yourself, choosing instead to undulate your tongue against the underside of his cock as you lifted your head back up. The action made Jacob’s hand fly back up into your hair, grip tight as he moaned and trembled. The sting of his hold on your hair made you whimper and mewl in your throat, eyes fluttering shut. You had built up a steady rhythm, head bobbing up and down with firm sucks at the head of his cock, hand still squeezing him lightly at the base. It felt good to have Jacob like this, shivery and noisy as you worked him mercilessly towards release. The fine tremors in his thighs on either side of you spurred you on, sliding his cock in deep until your nose nearly brushed the fabric of his shirt. The feeling of his hips curling upward, chasing the wet heat of your mouth as you pulled back to catch your breath made you giggle quietly before sliding him in deep once more.

“ _Jesus_ , love—” Jacob bit out through harsh breaths. He was growing more restless as you held him within your mouth, knees bumping your shoulders as he squirmed. The hand not tangled into your locks settled upon your cheek, thumb brushing the spit slick corner of your lips. He let out a rumbling, growling noise and said your name so heatedly that you finally opened your eyes and looked upward. Despite the feral noises, his gaze was feverish and pleading, his dark hair damp with sweat at his temples.

“I’ll finish if you don’t...don’t stop...”

You raise a brow and gave him a pointed look as best you could before closing your eyes and redoubling your efforts. Sliding him halfway from your mouth, you rubbed the flat of your tongue beneath the head of his cock and stroked the remaining length hard and fast. You could taste the fluid leaking from him, salty and warm in your mouth, and it made you squirm and rub your thighs together where you were knelt.

It took only a few minutes for Jacob’s quick, harsh breathing to catch in his throat with every moan he let out. His hips arched and bucked jerkily, the hand in your hair trying to pull you closer as he shuddered. Peering up at him from beneath your lashes, you saw the dark flush that had crept up his neck and onto his face just before he tilted his head back and choked out your name. The rush of heat as he spilled into your mouth made you groan in approval and take him in fully, working him through his release with slow strokes of your tongue and gentle sucks.

When he made a low, aching noise and nudged your head back you released him, swallowing all that he had given and leaning your head against his still quivering thigh. His hand in your hair had relaxed, massaging your scalp and stroking down over the warm skin on the back of your neck.

“Come up here,” Jacob murmured, hands already hooking beneath your arms and hauling you upwards. When he had you astride his lap he kissed you languidly, stroking your flushed cheeks and gazing into your eyes. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Something wicked, I hope,” you replied impishly. Jacob huffed a laugh and nudged his nose against yours, kissing you again with more purpose.

As he teased your lips with soft licks and nibbles he slid a hand down the curve of your breasts and stomach to settle between your thighs. You felt his fingers brush along the slick crease of your folds before parting your flesh, stroking over your entrance and up to your clit. His calloused touch on your flushed, sensitive nub made you exhale sharply, hips rocking down into his hand. Encouraged by the reaction, Jacob pressed his palm up against your clit, cupping you with his hand as he slid two long fingers into your body. He caught the sharp cry you let out with his lips, cradling the back of your head with his free hand to keep you close as he curled his fingers within you in a steady, come hither motion.

“ _Jacob_ ,” you whimpered into a messy kiss, hands gripping at his hair. The lewd, wet sound of his fingers moving inside of you made heat creep up your chest and neck. The dark, hungry look in Jacob’s eyes as he held your gaze was all the reassurance you needed that he loved it, though, and you tightened purposefully around his fingers in turn.

The insistent rhythm of his fingertips against that tender spot within you combined with the grind of his palm on your clit was devastating, the muscles in your belly and thighs tightening and quivering after only a few minutes. Your breath came in harsh gasps and you tugged Jacob’s hair mindlessly, not sure if you were pleading for mercy or for more. The man beneath you suddenly turned your head so that he could press his lips up against your ear, voice low and rough as he stroked you inside.

“After you’ve finished here I’m going to take you over to that lovely bed,” he muttered, pausing to moan softly in approval as a shudder wracked your frame, “and I’m going to lick and kiss and suck that perfect cunt until you come again.”

A choked cry burst from you as heat seared up your spine at his words and your eyes clenched tightly shut. Though your breath came faster and faster it felt like the air was too hot, too thin to get enough of. Mindlessly you slid a hand down your chest, palming over one breast and pinching your nipple firmly. Jacob did not miss the action. He groaned and kissed you hard, sucking on your lip before ducking his head and taking your nipple into his mouth, sucking and biting enough to sting. The heat of his mouth felt so good and the eagerness of his actions felt as if he wanted nothing more than to devour you.

Your breath halted in your chest suddenly, body trembling and muscles drawn tight. Jacob groaned in approval as he released your nipple, nuzzling against your chest and holding you around the waist with his free arm as tipped over the edge. As you shuddered and gasped through your release Jacob caressed you inside, pressing hot, open mouthed kisses up the side of your neck and murmuring your name soothingly. You could feel your inner muscles clutching at his fingers, chasing the already fading sensation of orgasm, and you heaved a tremulous, luxuriant sigh.

When you had calmed and settled against his chest, Jacob eased his hand out from between your legs and lifted it to his lips, sucking your release from his fingers with a pleased hum. Once he had finished he kissed your temple, stroking a hand over your hair and down the back of your neck.

“Worn out already?” He asked teasingly, grinning as you looked up at him with a raised brow.

“Hardly,” you replied, glancing downward pointedly as you braced yourself on his shoulders and stood from his lap. “I’m simply waiting for you.”

Jacob scoffed and brought a hand up to give you a quick swat on your backside before you could step out of his reach. You only grinned at him and walked around the chair, heading for the bed as you knew he wanted. The mattress was plush beneath you and you crawled onto it, sighing contentedly and smoothing your palm over the luxurious fabric of the bed linens. No expense had been spared here and it made you grin and nestle your cheek into the blankets.

You could hear the rustling of clothing and the dull swishes of shirts and trousers being cast to the floor. A quick peek out of the corner of your eye gave you a nice glimpse of Jacob’s now bare, broad chest and the dark hair trailing down towards his groin as turned towards the bed. You bit your lip as you gazed at him, feeling every bit as naughty as Jacob said you were. He saw you looking a split second before you looked away and he grinned, crawling onto the bed and bracing himself overtop you on hands and knees.

“I saw that, you little tart,” he chuckled, leaning his head down to press his lips to the back of your neck. You made a pleased noise in your throat as he did so which turned into a shivery gasp as Jacob’s hand settled on the dip of your lower back. He kneaded your muscles slowly as he peppered kisses along your neck and shoulder, teeth grazing just enough to make you swallow hard. Jacob’s kisses slowly traveled down the length of your back, wandering to the curves of your ribs and hips and stopping just above your ass. He sat back on his knees, then, and hummed lowly.

“Up on your knees, now. Hands on the headboard.”

You knew at once what he had in mind, this position being one that he favored but didn’t get to enjoy often. A pleased hum slipped out as you crawled up the length of the bed, pushing the pillows aside to give the pair of you plenty of space. The mahogany wood was cool on your palms and breasts as you pressed yourself against it. You parted your knees wide and turned your head to look back over your shoulder, blushing in spite of yourself at the open admiration on Jacob’s face. Without a word he moved up behind you and turned over to settle onto his back.

The brush of his scruffy cheek on your inner thigh made you squirm and lick your lips. A soft, lingering kiss followed, and Jacob ran his palms over the backs of your legs from knees to hips, hands cupping the swell of your ass. He peppered kisses along your thighs, alternating between fleeting ones and long, biting ones that you knew would leave marks behind on the sensitive flesh. All the while his hands gripped your backside, squeezing and lightly slapping to get a rise out of you. Which was exactly what happened, a deep, pink flush blooming on your shoulders and neck as you whimpered beneath his attention.

Suddenly his grasp shifted to the curve of your hips, pulling you down lower so that he could trace the tip of his tongue along your slick folds. Your breath caught and then released in a shuddering exhale, teeth setting upon your lower lip as you closed your eyes. He repeated the action in long, slow strokes of his tongue, and then he slid it between your folds to lave over the aching bud of your clit. His breath was hot against your wet flesh and it made you shiver and squirm, hips canting towards his mouth of their own accord. Before you could fully appreciate his gentle caresses to your clit, he moved his attention to your labia, suckling and pulling lightly with his lips with a low, rumbling moan.

It always felt so good to have his mouth on you this way, both from the sensation and from how much he so obviously loved pleasuring you with his mouth. You leaned into the headboard a little more and whimpered, fingers curling against the wood in a futile effort to ground yourself.

“Damn you, Jacob,” you breathed out fitfully.

The man gave a soft groan mingled with a laugh in reply and released your labia, pressing a lingering kiss there before he turned his attention back to your clit. This time his lips closed around the little nub and he suckled lazily, using the flat of his tongue to stroke back and forth over it. The onslaught of sensation sent chills and heat flaring up your spine in a dizzying combination and you sobbed out a breath, your forehead thudding to rest on the headboard. A huffing sound which might have been a laugh had his mouth been unoccupied escape Jacob and he increased the suction on your flesh. As he did so a hand wandered from your hip to your chest, fingers pinching one of your nipples and soothing the sting with slow, firm strokes of his palm.

Caught between squirming away and begging for him to keep going, you dropped a hand from the headboard to grip at his upon your chest. Your hips jerked and ground down against his face in a desperate move to feel more of his wicked tongue. In between your ever quickening breaths your cries and moans had grown hoarse, tension building low in your belly as your thighs trembled from the effort of keeping you upright. Beneath you, Jacob fared no better, aching, hungry noises and huffing breaths slipping out of him as he sucked and licked your clit like a man starved. His hand upon your breast gripped so hard that it ached but you only held tighter to his hand in turn, arching into the pressure of his grasp. The discomfort barely mattered in the approach of your orgasm, in the shadow of how relentless Jacob’s mouth was upon you as he worked you towards release.

When it finally crashed over you, your thighs tensed and closed tighter around Jacob’s head and you let out keening cries and moans as your body shuddered and pulsed with ecstasy. Jacob used his free hand to grip at your lower back, aiding to keep you steady as you quivered. His tongue gentled but kept stroking over your bud and he slowly eased the firm suction of his lips around you. When the strongest of the tremors had subsided, and you had all but melted into the headboard, Jacob pressed a quick kiss to your cunt before easing out from beneath you. You felt his hands smooth up the sweat dampened curve of your back and settle between your shoulder blades, his fingers kneading the tired muscles there. A tender kiss to the slope of your shoulder followed as he brushed your hair aside and nuzzled into the crook of your neck.

“Lovely bird,” Jacob sighed into your skin as he wrapped his arms around you.

You hummed fondly and leaned your head sideways against his. As he drew you back from the headboard to lean against his chest, you felt the hard line of his cock against your thighs. You wiggled your hips slightly and smiled as Jacob made a low sound and rolled his hips up against your backside. He brought a hand up to grip your chin gently, turning your head to the side so that he could catch your lips in a long, lazy kiss. As he sucked and nibbled at your lips he eased you down to lie upon the bed, leaning overtop you and stroking your hair back from your face. When he broke the kiss he smiled down at you.

“How do you want me to take you?”

You licked your lips absently and reached to brush your knuckles along his belly and chest as you considered the question. Though the idea of riding him had seemed so tantalizing a short time ago, now…

“I want to see your face,” you muttered, “but my legs are a bit tired. I don't think I'll be doing any riding tonight. Will you lie down on your side, facing me?”

Jacob gave you a curious look but followed instruction without complaint, lying down upon his right side and stretching out the same arm for you to pillow your head upon. You did the same with your left side and arm, and Jacob smiled when he felt you toying with his hair. He let his gaze wander down over the bare expanse of your body from breasts to belly to cunt and you were pleased by the clear interest in his expression.

“Take my top leg and drape it over your hip...there we are,” you said quietly, enjoying the roughness of his palm on your thigh as he guided your right leg over his body, bringing your pelvis in line with his. Jacob took a moment to kiss you, then, walking his fingers along your thigh and hip until you smiled against his lips. You brushed your knuckles against his belly as you lowered your hand between your bodies, finding his thick cock and giving him a squeeze. Jacob’s approval rumbled in his chest at the touch, and he rocked his hips into your hand.

“I haven’t had a woman like this before,” Jacob confessed in a mumble, looking a tad shy.

You smiled as a rush of possessive pride curled up like a pleased cat in your chest. Using your grasp on his length to guide the wide head of his cock to your entrance, you pressed a ghost of a kiss to his mouth as you canted your hips just right and allowed him to slip into your body. A faint, whimpering noise caught in Jacob’s throat as the wet heat of your cunt enveloped him, and he pressed his cheek against your arm beneath his head.

“It’s a favorite of mine,” you replied quietly, feeling as if speaking at normal volume was somehow forbidden at that moment. The hand that had gripped his length slid up Jacob’s belly and chest, fingertips stroking at the dark lines of ink that made up his tattoo. “It's intimate.”

You punctuated the words with a gradual roll of your hips. Jacob copied the action, following your lead until you had built an unhurried rhythm. The position favored rocking together rather than wild thrusts on Jacob’s part and it allowed you to steal kiss after kiss from the man before you. You stroked his cheek and neck and chest as he cupped your breast in his free hand and ran his thumb over your nipple, ducking his head to close his lips around the peaked flesh and suckle lazily. His hand wandered down your side and around to your lower back, fingers digging in a bit as he ground his hips with yours. Your own hand had dropped to his hip, marveling at the flex and pull of his muscles with every forward curl of his pelvis into you.

The easy, loving give and take of each touch and kiss was twisting and opening up the most vulnerable parts of your mind and heart and you had no intention of fighting it. You loved Jacob, impetuous, cocksure young man that he was because beneath all of that he was perhaps even more tender hearted and hungry for affection and companionship than you were. The swell of emotion made you nudge Jacob’s face up from where he was nuzzling and kissing your breasts to catch his lips. His appreciative sigh as you tongued into his mouth and tilted your head to deepen the kiss only served to strengthen your belief that this was right. Jacob had said you were good for him and you hoped desperately that he knew you felt the same for him. 

When Jacob broke the kiss his breath was heavy and he dropped his head back onto your arm and closed his eyes, simply basking in the quiet intensity of your coupling. The angular planes of his cheeks were stained red, dark brows furrowed as he gasped and panted quietly, teeth occasionally catching his lip. It was beyond endearing to see him lost in his pleasure but you so badly wanted to see his eyes. You brought your hand up from the hard jut of his hipbone to rest upon his jaw, leaning in to press a soft kiss to the furrow of his brow.

“Look at me,” you murmured as you brushed your lips down the line of his nose before pressing another kiss to his mouth.

Jacob made a faint noise and did as you asked, meeting your gaze with his own unfocused one. You gave him a warm smile and rolled your hips forward to meet his on his next gentle thrust, tightening around his cock when he was deep inside. The muscle in Jacob’s jaw tightened at the sudden tightness around him and he swallowed hard.

“Does it feel good?” You asked, a bit serious but mostly teasing. You weren’t sure if Jacob understood what you were going for; he only nodded faintly and shifted his hand from your hip to your knee, thumb absently stroking the bend of it over his side.

“ _Yes_...you’re just...you’re bloody killing me,” he rasped, sounding as sincere as he could given his shaky voice. He inhaled deeply and ground his pelvis into yours, a low moan issuing forth as he did. You bent the arm supporting Jacob’s head enough to comb your fingers through his hair at a soothing pace. You could feel the faint dampness of sweat at the roots of his thick locks and sighed. Everything was too hot and tight and close but it was  _perfect_.

“I wouldn’t do that to my husband,” you said quietly, closing the gap between Jacob’s lips and yours and kissing him languidly. The man holding you let out a choked noise and kissed you fiercely in return, hand squeezing your knee and the other gripping the back of your neck. He sucked at your lip and then broke away from your kiss to breathe your name.

“Say that again,” Jacob pleaded, his hips rolling into yours with more speed as he grabbed your thigh and pulled you in tighter to him. The sudden change in pace, his thick cock spreading you open over and over again made you cry out and clutch at him. You took a deep, steadying breath and leaned your forehead to his.

“ _Husband_ ,” you whispered unsteadily, keeping your gaze even with Jacob’s as you rocked your hips to meet his. Jacob let out a breathless groan and snapped his hips forward, gripping at your ass and pulling you forward to meet his shallow thrusts.

The tense, insistent ache that had been slowly building low in your belly was growing, making your thigh draped over Jacob begin to tremble and tighten. Your breath had grown shallow and frantic with the telling, hitched whimper at every inhale that told Jacob you were teetering at the edge. Releasing your hold on Jacob’s face, you slid your hand down in between your bodies, stroking and circling your finger upon your clit. Jacob glanced downward and swore beneath his breath, licking his lips before leaning in to kiss you. When he pulled back he kept his hand up to cradle your jawline, nudging his nose against yours.

“Sweet wife,” he breathed out in a rush, thumbing over your ruddy red cheek and smiling faintly at the helpless whimper you let out. “No need to wait. M’right there with you.”

The tenderness of his voice telling you to come, that it was okay, in contrast to the deep, claiming thrust of his cock into you was too much. Your body tightened and went so abruptly hot that it felt like you would be scorched, and you cried out weakly at the shudders that raced through you. Jacob had pulled you in against his chest, lips pressed to your forehead as he huffed sharply through his nose, fucking you quickly through the tight clench of your inner muscles as they spasmed in pleasure. His hips lost their rhythm suddenly, thrusts becoming more clumsy and you heard the aching noise in his throat as he buried himself within you and trembled as his own release claimed him. You had the presence of mind to smooth your hand up and down over the tense, shaking muscles in his belly as he spilled within you, murmuring encouragingly and nuzzling into his chest.

For a long while the pair of you were quiet, still wrapped up in each other as your breaths and hearts calmed. Jacob was absently stroking his palm up and down your back, his face nestled into your hair. He was so warm and solid against you and you couldn’t help but press closer when he gently withdrew from your body. You felt more than heard his fond chuckle with your cheek on his chest, and the dull pressure of a kiss to your hair followed.

“Is everything to your liking, then, my lady?”

Jacob murmured playfully against your hair as he ghosted his fingertips down the valley of your spine. You smiled against his chest and nodded.

“It’s wonderful,” you replied at once, bringing a hand up to absently stroke along the firm muscle beneath your cheek. “But how did you afford all of this? The house, the furnishings...I know you don’t take in _that much_ coin stealing from Templar ships.”

Jacob’s fingers slowed their wandering up and down your spine and he hummed.

“A bit of thievery here and there. Catching dangerous street thugs for Freddy. Doing more secret work for Her Majesty. I put in a fair bit of time at the fighting rings, too. I arranged a match against a rather big brute from Austria. The prize was nearly ten thousand pounds...and a few cracked ribs and fingers, but I digress.”

“ _Jacob_ ,” you began sternly with a furrow of your brows. He shushed you gently before you could go on, rolling the pair of you over so that he could look down upon your face. The worn pad of his thumb stroked over the thin skin beneath your eye as he smiled warmly.

“Don’t be cross with me. I needed fifty thousand pounds to buy the property and still have some left over for other things. A wedding, a honeymoon. I worked and saved for months and I’d do it again and again for you. For our future here,” Jacob said quietly, his gaze dropping as if he were suddenly embarrassed. You tutted softly and brushed his mussed hair back from his face.

“I’m content with a simple life, you silly man. Or as simple as it can be given who we are. I only want to be with you.”

“I know,” Jacob said quickly, chewing his lip slightly. “I’ve only been thinking that Evie will be gone to India soon and I...I’m not certain if I shall see her again for many years. It’s time for me to start making my own way here if I’m going to keep a hold on the city and rebuild the London Brotherhood. I want you by my side for it. I suppose I wanted to show you that I can give you a comfortable life. That I’m capable of taking care of you.”

For the second time that evening you found yourself surprised by the seriousness in Jacob’s voice. It was evident that he had thought of all of this more than once and for far longer than a few fleeting minutes. Your surprise was quickly replaced by deep fondness, and you brought a hand up to cradle Jacob’s scarred cheek.

“I’ve never doubted for a moment that you were a capable man. I’ll be with you here for as long as you’ll have me,” you replied reassuringly.

Jacob smiled almost shyly and then closed the short space between your lips and his, fingers sliding into your hair and gripping gently as he kissed you.

“Until I draw my last breath, then,” he muttered in between kisses, winding locks of your hair around his fingers. “I love you. Madly so.”

“I love you, Jacob Frye,” you replied tenderly, sliding your arms around him and holding tightly. Jacob nestled his head beneath your chin and heaved a sigh and then went quiet. The comfort of his presence and weight of his body atop you made your eyes grow a tad heavy, your breath slowing.

“Oh, damn me to hell and back.”

Jacob’s sudden words startled you back into awareness, muscles tensing as your assassin training took over. A tired laugh from the man soothed your nerves and you made a curious noise, bumping your chin against his head.

“What?”

“I, erm...well, I bought you a ring but I don’t actually have it here,” Jacob grumbled against your skin. “It’s in the safe on the train. This is what I get for trying to be responsible. Evie would be so bloody amused if she knew.”

You couldn’t help but laugh; the entire night had been a whirlwind of ridiculous happenings and this was the perfect thing to top it off. You rubbed a hand against Jacob’s back as you giggled, muttering his name fondly.

“I don’t mind. We’ll go get it tomorrow and I’ll wear it to dinner with Evie and Greenie. We’ll see which one of them says something about it first, hmm?”

Jacob hummed and lifted his head enough to look you in the eye.

“We’re going to dinner with them?”

“We are now, yes.”

Jacob pulled a face and hummed and hawed for a moment, eyes rolling towards the ceiling as he thought. Then he shrugged and kissed you.

“All right. My money is on Evie. She’s terribly nosy when she thinks I’m up to something.”

“That’s fine. I was pulling for Greenie anyway. He can’t resist pointing out things he thinks everyone else has missed.”

Jacob laughed sharply at that and rolled off of you, propping himself up on one elbow and raising a brow.

“What’s the prize?”

“The winner...hmm...” You paused, pondering for a moment as you sat upright, bending your legs and resting your chin upon your knees. You felt Jacob’s hand creep up the bare curve of your spine and smiled, glancing sideways at him. “The winner gets to choose where we travel for our honeymoon.”

Jacob’s brows shot up in surprise but then he smirked and nodded.

“Capital idea. I’ve always wanted to travel to Switzerland for a bit of hiking.”

“Well, don’t get excited. We’ll be going to France instead to enjoy the countryside.”

“France?” Jacob said through a grimace. “If you drag me to France you’ll have to listen to my atrocious French for the duration of our stay.”

“It’s no bother. I’ll be so pleasantly drunk on their wine that I won’t care about a single word that comes out of your silly mouth.”

Jacob huffed and put a hand over his heart in mock affront.

“Oh, love. You’re awful.”

“And yet you asked for my hand in marriage,” you teased, leaning over to peck him on the bridge of his nose. Jacob grinned and leaned up to chase your lips with his, rubbing his thumb along the dip of your spine as he kissed you.

“I did,” he whispered between kisses, “and you said yes.”

You smiled and leaned your forehead to his, basking in the sound of his slow breath and the warmth of his skin.

“I did.”

 

In the end it was Greenie who inquired first about your ring, much to Jacob’s dismay. You could hardly blame the other man. If anything it was Jacob’s fault; the ring was anything but inconspicuous. You had spent most of the day gazing at it on your finger, marveling at the shifting rainbow hue of the hefty, oval opal and the twelve sparkling diamonds that bordered it. Greenie had seemed confused at the disappointed groan Jacob let out directly after his inquiry, and the delighted laugh that escaped you, and so you had had no choice but to explain the wager. Evie, who had looked nearly fit to burst with holding in her own questions throughout the evening, also laughed and returned the ugly face Jacob gave her from across the table.

“I’m so glad that I could help my future sister in law win her first of many wagers against her fool of a husband,” Evie had said, holding out her glass of champagne for you to bump gently with your own.

“Where will you two travel? To the Continent or nearer to home?” Greenie had asked after Jacob had collected himself and was sitting back in his seat in silent, theatrical mourning.

“Fr-”

“I believe we’ll go to Switzerland first,” you said lightly, flashing the couple opposite you a pleased smile. “To enjoy the fresh air and the mountains. Then perhaps we’ll spend a couple of weeks in France before we come home on a steamship.”

You paused there and looked over at Jacob, who looked utterly baffled. You offered him your hand, which he took hesitantly, and laughed.

“I think that’s what we agreed upon, isn’t it?”

Confusion gave way to sappy adoration and Jacob nodded, lowering his head to press a tender kiss to your knuckles.

“I believe so, my dear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so in love with this big English muffin. I could write about him for the rest of ever.
> 
>  **Victorian Slang Meanings**  
>  Bricky - Brave or fearless  
> Don't sell me a dog - Don't lie to me.
> 
> [This ring here](http://www.trumpetandhorn.com/archcliffe.html) was the one I had in mind for the engagement ring.
> 
> The fic title is taken from Dance Me to the End of Love by The Civil Wars, which I highly recommend giving a listen to [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0LZ4wMV3zw) if by some chance you haven't already.
> 
> Once more, thank you for all of the lovely feedback on my other Jacob/Reader fic. It gave me the fuel I needed to complete this story. I'm having fun providing well written reader insert fics for you all! Any further questions can be left in my ask box on [Tumblr](http://ghivashel.tumblr.com/).


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